Bellingham teen held in boy’s death

Associated Press

BELLINGHAM — A teen-ager was ordered held without bail Monday for investigation of aggravated first-degree murder and kidnapping in the slaying of an 8-year-old boy.

Ryan Alexander, 16, told investigators that he tied Michael Busby with duct tape, then choked him with a stick because the child had been "bugging him," Whatcom County Prosecutor Dave McEachran said.

The boy was reported missing last Thursday when he failed to return home after telling his mother he wanted to visit a nearby park. His naked body was found the next morning in a field not far from his home.

McEachran said the boy’s hands had been tied behind his back, and the body bore cuts on the torso, the back of the legs and the back.

An autopsy was scheduled Monday to determine the cause of death. Results were not expected until later in the week.

In court Monday, Alexander appeared in green jail fatigues and kept his head down as Whatcom County Superior Court Commissioner Alfred Heydrich asked if he understood the proceedings. Alexander answered "yes" to the first question, then responded with nods to subsequent questions.

Alexander’s and Michael Busby’s parents watched the proceedings in the courtroom. The Busbys appeared composed; the Alexanders listened with eyes closed.

"This is an open wound for our community, and we just ask everybody to pray for the Busby family, for the Alexander family, that they have some peace in their homes tonight," the Alexanders’ pastor, Jon Arnold, said after the hearing.

McEachran said that, under terms of Alexander’s parole on a theft charge, the teen-ager was supposed to be at home at all times except when he was in school.

Last Thursday afternoon, Alexander’s mother called juvenile probation authorities to say he wasn’t there.

When Alexander checked in with a probation officer at 6:13 p.m. Thursday, he said he’d been outside where a kid was "bugging him."

Later, Michael Busby’s parents reported him missing. And family friends, neighbors and local authorities began searching for the boy.

McEachran said authorities believe the boy was killed between 4:15 p.m., when he left his house, and 6:13 p.m., when Alexander checked in with his probation officer.